Privileges committee investigates Thomson claims

There has been furious political jockeying in the leadup to the privileges commitee meeting over whether Craig Thomson lied when he addressed Parliament this week.

Transcript

TONY JONES, PRESENTER: The investigative wheels have been set in motion on the question of whether Craig Thomson lied when he addressed Parliament this week.

Tonight the parliamentary privileges committee began its inquiry into the Thomson affair when it met behind closed doors.

But there was furious and very public political jockeying in the lead-up to tonight's committee meeting, as our political correspondent Tom Iggulden reports from Canberra.

TOM IGGULDEN, REPORTER: The privileges committee has a special place in Parliament. It's where a select few MPs gather to defend the reputation of the institution, and unlike most parliamentary committees, meetings are almost always conducted behind closed doors.

TOM IGGULDEN: And one where politics is supposed to take a back seat to parliamentary process.

DON RANDALL: We always try and reach a consensus. There are very few minority reports that come out of the privileges committee. I think the last one that I can recall was when Roz Kelly was before the committee.

ANTHONY ALBANESE, LEADER OF THE HOUSE: What it won't do, I'm very confident, is pretend that it's a court of law. ... The consequences of the Parliament becoming a star chamber, I mean, this is 500 years of precedent here.

TOM IGGULDEN: Members of the committee rarely speak about what goes on inside it, but one today conceded the investigation into Craig Thomson is not going to be a quick one.

DON RANDALL: Certainly could be months because there's a lot of information to come before us. And quite rightly, as people have commentated, we may well have to wait for other jurisdictions to do their work before we can again look at some of the information.

TOM IGGULDEN: The ability of the committee to look into the sorts of allegations made against Craig Thomson of deliberate misrepresentation has its roots in the British House of Commons and the case of the late British War minister John Profumo in the early 1960's. In a statement to the Commons he denied allegations of a relationship with a call girl. He was later forced to admit he had and left Parliament in disgrace.

The committee can dole out five potential punishments. The most severe is a prison term of up to six months. It can also impose a fine of up to $5,000. It can make a public reprimand and demand a public apology. It can even take away the plastic parliamentary pass needed to enter Parliament House.

What's less clear is how the committee would decide whether Mr Thomson's guilty of deliberate misrepresentation. Tony Abbott's pushing for a low bar of proof, less than the lack of reasonable doubt for criminal trials in court.

TONY ABBOTT, OPPOSITION LEADER: I don't seek to give the privileges committee advice, but I would have thought that the ordinary civil standard would be more than good enough for the Parliament.

ANTHONY ALBANESE: Thank you for Justice Abbott for that interpretation of the law. I mean, you know, this guy's just a hack. He's not a judge, he's not a jury; he's a hack.

TOM IGGULDEN: Mr Abbott says the committee can call Mr Thomson to give evidence and he's suggesting it could look at key claims made by the Member for Dobell, like this one.

CRAIG THOMSON, INDEPENDENT MP: What you don't expect is Channel 7 reporters to be hovering underneath the bathroom window ... while my pregnant wife is having a shower.

TONY ABBOTT: It would be open to the privileges committee to call Channel 7 to ask them whether in fact they did engage in some kind of peeping Tom behaviour.

TOM IGGULDEN: Mr Abbott's also questioning Mr Thomson's allegations against Tony Nassios, the Fair Work Australia investigator who produced the damning findings about him.

CRAIG THOMSON: Mr Nassios, the delegate, was selective and biased. ... I myself had only one interview with Fair Work Australia close to two years ago. That was it. One interview two years ago.

TONY ABBOTT: It would be open to the privileges committee to call Mr Nassios and ask him did he in fact have minimal contact with Mr Thomson as Mr Thomson alleges.

TOM IGGULDEN: The Government says Mr Abbott should keep his opinions about who should be called to himself.

ANTHONY ALBANESE: That's a matter for them. Funnily enough, I actually think that the committee should have proper processes and shouldn't be directed by anyone, be it Mr Abbott or by myself.

TOM IGGULDEN: The non-partisan traditions of the privileges committee are set to be tested to the limit with the noise of the political contest being played outside it reaching a cacophony. It's every move'll be scrutinised as the Craig Thomson affair lurches into another unpredictable chapter.

Tom Iggulden, Lateline.

Do you have a comment or a story idea? Get in touch with the Lateline team by clicking here.